We Only Know So Much

Jean Copeland, an emotionally withdrawn wife and mother of two, has taken a secret lover—only to lose him in a moment of tragedy that leaves her reeling. Her husband, Gordon, is oblivious, distracted by the fear that he's losing his most prized asset: his memory. Daughter Priscilla (a pill since birth—don't get us started) is talking about clothes, or TV, or whatever, and hatching a plan to extend her maddening reach to all of America. Nine-year-old Otis is torn… (more)

At the back of the house, grandfather Theodore is in the early throes of Parkinson's disease. (And he's fine with it—as long as they continue to let him walk the damn dog alone.) And Vivian, the family's ninety-eight-year-old matriarch, is a razor-sharp grande dame who suffers no fools...and still harbors secret dreams of her own.

With empathy, humor, and an unforgettable voice, Elizabeth Crane reveals what one family finds when everyone goes looking for meaning in all the wrong places.

(less)

Fiction Literary American and Canadian literature

Editorial reviews (2 reviews)

Los Angeles Times : Review: 'We Only Know So Much,' and that's how Elizabeth Crane leaves it (August 13, 2012)

A wry evocation of modern life, at once familiar but also revelatory.

MiamiHerald.com: Books : Elizabeth Crane examines family problems with humor, empathy (July 02, 2012)

We Only Know So Much is a comic novel, and so we can assume that things will improve by the end. Some problems will be solved, others accepted, and the Copelands will know more about themselves and each other.